The Nigeria Police Force has dismantled a cyber-enabled fraud network accused of diverting telecommunications airtime and data resources worth over ₦7.7 billion, leading to the arrest of six suspects and the recovery of assets believed to be proceeds of crime.
The operation was carried out by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF–NCCC) following a petition from a telecommunications company that detected suspicious transactions within its billing and payment systems.
Benjamin Hundeyin, Force Public Relations Officer, in a statement issued in Abuja, seen by BusinessDay, reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to dismantling cybercrime networks and ensuring perpetrators face justice regardless of status or affiliation.
Investigations revealed that login credentials belonging to company staff were compromised, allowing unauthorised individuals to gain access to core systems and illegally divert telecom resources over time.
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After weeks of intelligence gathering, coordinated operations were executed in October 2025 across Kano and Katsina States, with a subsequent arrest made in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Police identified the suspects as Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.
Items recovered during the operation included two residential houses and two mini-plazas in Kano, GSM and laptop retail outlets containing more than 400 laptops and about 1,000 mobile phones, as well as a Toyota RAV4 vehicle. Authorities also traced and recovered substantial sums of money from bank accounts linked to the suspects.
Police Authorities confirmed that the suspects would be charged to Court upon the completion of investigations.
